Easter Sunday - Peti Szabad

Sunday sermon recorded on April 5, 2026   

Part of the "Be a Blessing" series.   

Slides used in the sermon: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11O2xnE4zd2Lq55aaJSMoqJipxQtVe7PQ/view?usp=drive_link  

https://linktr.ee/northpointema

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Happy Easter church!

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Happy Easter Easter!

SPEAKER_00 0:03

How's everybody feeling? Easter? Like Easter? I love Easter. There's a lot of a lot of pinks and light colors, beautiful dresses, and uh spring is here. Yes, that's one of the things that we celebrate with Easter. But the other thing is we do celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. And uh I'm I'm I'm excited to talk about that today. Uh, but I'm not gonna be the only one doing the talking. We have uh two of our members gonna share a little bit of how Jesus impacted their lives. Uh Linda Clement and and Danny Maldonado. I'm very grateful uh for both of you guys and uh to participate in in this special service in this way. We're also gonna have uh an uh a baptism at the end of the service. Jacob Owen will be baptized, so that's gonna be exciting. Uh, you know, and uh I'll I'll share more about Jacob. What a what an amazing young man. I'm so glad I've gotten to know you, man. So let's let's get moving.

SPEAKER_02 1:07

All right.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

All right, so uh a couple quick announcements before I get into the sermon. First of all, if you want to stay more in touch with what's going on in our congregation, the North Point Church, we have our own app. So you can just scan that QR code, download the app. The app has a prayer wall. There's actually a couple of new prayer requests on the prayer wall. Uh there uh Ozzie just uh uploaded an uh uh an update on an answered prayer for my brother's good. Yeah, his brother, his brother's, we prayed for his brother, he's good, he you know, and and that's very encouraging. It's it's it's you know, it's it's it's a communal space for all of us. Uh there's news uh that you can check out. Uh we have a podcast, our sermons are you can you can listen back to the podcast uh of of previous sermons or the ones that uh that you know you you might have listened, you know, might have participated even here, and then you went home and like, what was that point that uh I really liked it, but I forgot it. Does that happen ever happen to you?

unknown 2:06

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Okay, it's not just me, good. Uh so then you can listen it, watch it, all those, all those good things. Anyways, uh all right, so that's that's the app. Uh welcome to Easter Sunday. Before I get into the sermon again, I wanted to just point out that I want to invite all of you back next Sunday. Because next Sunday is not Easter. No, but so you can prove people wrong. Because some people say that some people only go to church on Christmas and Easter. So if you come back next week, they're already wrong about you.

SPEAKER_02 2:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

But here's another reason. Next Sunday, we're actually gonna have a brunch at church service. Uh we're not gonna be sitting in rows like this. We're gonna have tables, we're gonna sit around tables throughout the whole service, uh, and we're gonna be eating a brunch while having a church service. Uh it's a very unique uh experience. It's more communal. Yeah, it's it's it's it's you know, we talk, you know, it's it's a little more noisy because you're not staying quiet and listening to one person speak. Every table is having their own conversation, and that that raises the noise level. Uh the food is amazing. Uh we celebrate all the birthdays uh in April. Uh, anyways, it's gonna be a great, great Sunday. So that's next Sunday, uh April 12th. Okay, so uh one of the things that we've been talking this spring is how to be a blessing, and uh I thought that was uh an appropriate uh to talk about Jesus and how he was a blessing. So uh shoot, it's it changed all my slides, Rich. Anyways, so this is uh this is my slides changed back to a different format. You want to just open it up on my uh my my thumb drive? Okay. Let's let's try to do that.

unknown 4:07

All right.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Give us a technical moment. Uh not that not that it matters that much. Yeah. Anyway, so going back, my the title of my sermon for Easter Sunday is What did Jesus do on Easter Sunday? Have you ever have you ever been? Let's see. There we go, much better. So, what did Jesus do on Easter Sunday? Let me ask you a question.

unknown 4:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

If you just rose from the dead, how would you spend your first day?

unknown 4:44

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 4:45

Eating. Eating.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

That that sounds like a good idea, right? Have some food? Yes, Christian. You enjoy probably just being alive again, right? Nature, awesome. Anyone else? How would you spend your day, Robbie?

SPEAKER_02 5:03

Throw a party.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

Throw a party, okay. Yeah, Ivan?

unknown 5:06

Praising God.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Praising God, okay, yeah? Anyone else? Yeah, Jim.

unknown 5:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

And yeah, my family. Hey, hey, I'm all good. I'm all good. Don't worry about me. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Enjoying life all over again.

SPEAKER_00 5:18

Enjoying life all over again, yes. Jordan.

unknown 5:21

I think I was dreaming. I think I freaked out and doing it.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

Yeah, you like you pinch yourself like, what just happened, right? Yeah, so it it's yeah, hold on.

SPEAKER_02 5:31

I'm giving I'm back.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

I'm back. Okay, okay. You know, uh it's it's it's when you read the Bible, sometimes we can just read it as a religious text. But it's not a religious text, it actually is a story that actually happened in real life. So we can put ourselves into the shoes of uh and and the minds of the people that it's talking about, like Jesus walking out of that grave. Alright, here I am, I'm back. I don't know what he said, but we've the Bible actually tells us what he did on that first day. And uh so this is gonna be a little bit of a different Easter Sunday sermon. This isn't gonna be about the resurrection, it's about what Jesus did after the resurrection. Okay. So the fact that he resurrected, uh, most people that come to an Easter Sunday service probably believe that. So I'm not gonna try and prove this to you, but what did Jesus do on Easter Sunday? There's three things he did according to what the Bible wrote down. He met with Mary, he met with Cleopaths and his companion, and if you don't know who these people are, you're not alone. And met with the apostles. I mean, most of us know who they are. So let's get into this story. Uh and uh I'm actually gonna after the first one, I'm gonna ask Linda to share uh about how Jesus met her, and then after the second point, I'm gonna ask Danny to share, it's appropriate. The first point is about a woman, the second point is about a couple guys. So he met with Mary. Let's turn to John chapter 20, and we're gonna read most of the chapter in John 20, starting at verse 1 and 2. It says, early on, I mean let me wait, let me wait for you guys to get there in your Bibles. By the way, our church app has a built-in Bible, just to let you know. Don't want to pray. Don't want to pray. So if you have a paper Bible, just flip to John chapter 20. Uh if you have a phone, uh you in and you can just also follow along with the slides. Uh it's easy. John 20, verse 1 and 2 says, Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. You know, she gets up really early to go there because she wants to take care of Jesus' body. She wants to she has to give him the proper respect with the burial and uh with spices and and different things that they did in those days. Uh but then she finds the tomb empty. So what does she do? So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him. Now, is is she thinking resurrection? No, she isn't. She's just looking for the body. How can I honor this? You know, he's the he is the he's my teacher, he was my Lord, he died. Let me honor his body, let me let me pay my dues, let me let me be express my respect. But where's the body? Without the body, I can't I can't do these things. So he goes and tells Peter and John and and uh thinking they might have a smart idea. Well, let's see what they do. Verse 3. So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside. He saw and believed. They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. So, you know, these guys show up at the tomb, and and they they don't meet Jesus, they just meet an they just see the empty tomb. The body is gone. And and and you know, what whatever it meant that they believed, yet didn't connect all the dots yet. That that was that was a lot of confusion. But I love how the Bible explains, you know, it's it's it's a man's book. You know, men are very competitive. Uh and you know, Mary never said, hey, I I raised uh Susanna and I got there, you know, that doesn't happen. But guys, you know, who would know? Everybody, right? But that's uh joke joke aside, they they get to the tomb and they only see this this empty tomb with this cloth, you know, folded up, and and and what do they do after that? They you know, okay, did they tell Mary, uh, let's go find a body? You know, they there's there's nothing. You know what they do? Verse 10. Let's keep reading. Then the disciples went back to their homes. Okay, I guess this is empty. What now? But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. You know, guys are sometimes can be a little hard-hearted. You know, it takes a little while for us to get, you know, things get to us.

unknown 11:37

Maybe.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Maybe. Not all of us. But Mary, Mary was, she was devastated. She was she was bent on honoring her Lord, Jesus, and he his body is gone. So she's outside of the tomb crying. And here's the story goes. He says, as she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. You know, I don't know if those angels were angels were in there when the guys looked in. They didn't see him. Maybe the angels appeared, only to Mary. But she sees these angels, and she's still grief-stricken because the angels ask her, woman, why are you crying? They have taken my Lord away, she said, and I don't know where they put him. You know, she's she's still, you know what happens when grief hits, when despair, pain, suffering happens to us? It it creates confusion. It blurs our vision. We really can't, you know, it's really hard to have a sense of uh of uh perspective because it kind of your whole world gets singled down on that one loss. It's pretty powerful emotionally. You know, in another gospel, we we hear that uh there were a couple other women that were around uh at one point, and the the the angels tell him, uh, I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He isn't here, he is risen from the dead just as he said would happen. You know, that's uh the the angels but Mary is still grief-stricken. Uh meaning the angels didn't console her. She's not feeling any better. But here's what happens next, and this is this is to me, this is powerful. Because until this point, Jesus has not appeared on the scene. But in this point, in verse 14, at this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But if she did not realize that it was Jesus, maybe she was looking into the tomb, she was crying so much, she turned back and it was a blurry, it was just a person, uh, you know, a blurry image of a person because of the tears. I don't know. Maybe she was some kind of an utter way of confusion, I don't know why. But Jesus tells her, Woman, he said, Why are you crying? The same question the angels ask, right? God sends angels, and then and then when the angels are not enough, he sends Jesus. Who is it you are looking for? Thinking he was the gardener, she said, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him. She's still focused on taking care of Jesus' body. And sometimes, you know, can you relate? You know, you have a problem that you need to solve. And that problem is right in front of you, and until that problem is solved, you can't really think out of the box. But here's what Jesus says Jesus said to her, Mary. You know, every time I read that I get emotional. Because Jesus doesn't just want to solve her problem, he shows up to connect with this woman. You know, she turned toward him and cried out, you know, I'm a craboni, which means teacher. She recognizes him. When she when he calls her by her name, she says, that's him. That's all of a sudden, everything changes. In that moment, she realizes that Jesus is alive. You know, keep reading the story in verse 17. It says, Jesus said, uh, do not hold on to me. She probably held on to her. She probably saw him, cried out, was so relieved that he's alive, just gave him a big hug or something. And just or just fell down at his feet and grabbed her his hands. I don't know how it happened, the Bible doesn't describe the details, but that was an emotional and physical connection. Says, don't hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am returning to my father and your father, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news, I have seen the Lord. And she told them that he had said these things to her. You know, what does Jesus do on Easter Sunday? He meets his friend, Mary, who is still crying outside of the tomb, gives her, lets her give her a hug, reassures her that he is alive, comforts her in ways that nothing else can comfort her, gives her hope through his resurrection. And now I want to invite Linda to share her story.

SPEAKER_03 17:27

I got up here without falling. That's good. So um I just wanted to share that um from the time I was about like 10, um, we went to live with my father's family in Virginia, and that's when I started going to church. Prior to that, I was somewhat of a criminal. My sisters and I thought up things only 10-year-olds can think of. But but when um so when we moved there, we started going to church every Sunday, Sunday school church. Then when I got into high school, I lived with my dad, and it was the same thing. You go to church every Sunday, but it wasn't like um wasn't like this. It was a very like very God is vengeful. If you don't, if you don't do what he says, you're gonna get in trouble. So I developed this persona of being a good girl, a good person. So um then when I went to college, I thought, I'm done with charts. My dad's not here, he can't make me go. Um, and so that's kind of how things went along. But in college, I had um in high school, I had a best friend, her name was Elaine, and she was somewhat of a geek. Um, she would well, we were all nerdy. She was like number one in our class, she was very smart. So she got into MIT, and I went to school in South Hadley, so we you know practiced that ancient art of letter writing to stay in touch. And in high school, she was not religious. Her family was Chinese, they would go to Chinatown in New York every Sunday and watch karate movies and go out to eat. So she started talking about church. She started talking about church, she started talking about going on dates and going like going with friends to go bowling, and I was like, hmm, this is interesting. So, but she never invited me. So then we graduated, we both stayed in Massachusetts, and then she did invite me to a service, and back then, um this was in the 90s, uh the church went met like once a month in Boston Gardens. It's not called that now, I don't know what it's called, but TD Garden? Um, and it there was it was the whole church from like all the Boston from Worcester. So there was a lot of people there. And the whoever preached it was one of the McKeans. It was that time of year where we do special missions where we raise money to send send people out to teach everyone about God. And um, so he talked about money, he talked about sacrificing, and I sat there and I thought, well, this is just like any other church. So I was not impressed, but afterwards, I was impressed with how my friend had changed, how different she was. She was very sarcastic, which might be one of the reasons why we were attracted to each other. But she was she was loving and giving, and people were hugging her, and people were hugging me, and I'm like, Well, this is different. So she had asked if um she could give my name to somebody who lived in Worcester where I live, because she lived uh, I think in Arlington at the time. So so I said, okay. And um so she gave my name to Alice Clark, who somebody you know used to be Alice Ueno back then, and she called me up and she invited me to church. The first um service that I went to was on Mother's Day, and it was about it was Jimmy Rogers, he preached about how God's love is like a mother's love. And then Alice asked me to study the Bible, so I thought I didn't really know what that meant because I had I had read the Bible like everybody else, started in Genesis, got confused, stopped. So I said, okay, so we started studying the Bible, and um I think at that point in my life, I even though I had kind of said, you know, no more church, um, and was kind of done, you know, thank God God was not done with me. So I started studying the Bible, and honestly, it was like I was in a dark room, and maybe there were pinholes of light, because I had my family, I had my like nieces and nephews, they were like my whole world. But when I started studying the Bible, it was like Somebody ripped the roof off the house and like all this light came flooding in. And I was just so I was just grateful. I was so grateful because at that point in my life, even though I always tried to be a good girl, good person, help people, um inside it was like a mess. It was all sins of the sins of the heart. Because I I never drank, because good girls don't do that. I don't smoke, I had never slept around. But I inside, I was just prideful, very arrogant. At 26, I knew everything because that's what 20-year-olds, right? No, they know everything. And I was very, very judgmental and um and very harsh with people. Like I really, I there I hated all white men because of my experiences in life. If you cross me, if we were friends and you crossed me, I wouldn't be friends with you. I just wouldn't even talk to you anymore. And it got and at work, and I happened to have the apartment at work, so I was kind of always at work. Um, I just got everything people did things wrong. I don't know why they just don't listen to me. I know what I'm doing. It got so bad that somebody actually quit because of me. And they put it in their the resignation letter that that's why they were quitting. And I got written up, and I went to my boss and I said, You can't you can't write me up for this. I can't make anybody quit. She quit because she she wanted to quit, even though I knew how I had treated her. So and he took it away. He he took it, he took it away. So when I started studying the Bible, it was just it was just amazing. Um just to one of the the studies that really had an impact on me was first it was the church study because I was lonely and I and you know I I grew up in a family that they didn't really know how to love and take care of you. They just they just didn't. So I was really, I really needed that. I really needed family. And then I did the cross study, and that's when I really realized, you know, first of all, that uh why I was so miserable, um, why there were some nights that just I couldn't even sleep because in my head I would be going over conversations that I had, what people did wrong, and there were some times that those voices were so loud that I considered taking my own life because I just couldn't couldn't take it anymore. So then when I um studied the cross and that really just opened my eyes to kind of you know to who God was and uh and Jesus' sacrifice for me and how that could just change my change my whole world. So I decided to get baptized. This was in June of 1990. It was um it was a Saturday, and because it was a Saturday and people were dating, and they waited till like a we waited till like 11 o'clock at night to do the baptism at Bell Pond. And um, and I still I still remember walking in the water. I remember for some reason it was summer, but I wore jeans, um, and coming out of that water and just just the incredible feel, just being so grateful and relieved, and everybody was singing, and then the police came and they were like, What are you guys doing here? And they were like, We're having a baptism, and so they laughed. Um, but it was just amazing, and it would just be awesome if it was like that every day since then. But we know Jesus said, in this life you will have trouble. Yeah, so almost the next day, my family said to me, Um, either you quit this, they're like, This church is a cult, either you stop going or we're not gonna talk to you again. And at that point, my family was everything to me. But I one of the scriptures that I love was in um, okay, I can do that. John, in John 6, it says, From the time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him, you do not want to leave too, do you? Jesus asked the twelve. And Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the only, that you are the holy one of God. Um, so I so I did not leave. I did, and I think over time um, you know, my family came to appreciate who I became because they also had to live with that judgmental person. So um, so yeah, in time they appreciated and they understood that if I wasn't following God, that I would not be, you know, I would not be a nice person. So um, and since then, you know, there have been, you know, it's life. I've been at it 34 years, which besides living is the longest thing I've done anything. But I am just so grateful and I feel so blessed because God has given me so much. And there have been, and he's taking me through so much. I've had I had both my parents die, I've had breast cancer. Last year I broke my ankle, and yet he's surrounded with me with people who love me, who take care of me, who I can love and give to. And um, and it's just been amazing, and that's what's so exciting about Easter. I mean, it's fun to have a special day and to do Easter egg hunts with a bunch of wild children. But as a disciple, we get to celebrate that every day. Every day we get to celebrate what the cross means. All right, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 28:23

Thank you, Linda. I really appreciate you sharing your story. And uh uh many of you don't know, but uh Linda and a few members of our church did put up an Easter egg hunt yesterday for children right here in our building, and uh I heard the kids had a blast, so that was encouraging. Amen. So, continuing with the sermon, Jesus met with Mary, but he wasn't done. Thank you. He met with uh this guy Cleopath, uh interesting name, and his companion, which we don't even know his name. But let's turn to Luke chapter 24 and read this story, starting in verse 13. Now, that same day, two of them, that was the day of the resurrection, two of them were going to a village called Emes, about seven miles from Jerusalem. You know, these are two of Jesus' followers that decided he got killed. You know, we're done. Let's just let's just head out out of town. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. Uh, you know, as they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them, but they were kept from recognizing him. You know, what does Jesus do on Easter Sunday? After showing, you know, meeting Mary, comforting her, he actually joins these two disciples that are walking away from everything. And walks along the road with them. You know, when I think about what would I do, I would, I would, you know, I would do something big, maybe show myself to the the the Roman governor, maybe, maybe go up meet the the the ruling counselor of the Jewish people and say, hey, you guys killed me, I'm back, you know, you know, in your face, thank you, Rich. In your face, you know, or or or just show up to the disciples to kind of, but he's he's not doing that just yet. There's some few people that he wants to come alongside. And one of these, you know, these two guys, keep reading verse 17. He asked them, What are you discussing together as you walk along? They stood still, they're facing downcast. One of them named Cleopaths asked him, Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days? What things? He asked. I love that. Like, you know. He went through the whole thing. He he was the one that was killed.

SPEAKER_02 31:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 31:14

So they replied, about Jesus of Nazareth, they replied. He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death and they crucified him. But we had hope that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it, just as the women had said, but him they did not see. You know, they're they're recounting their disappointing experience. He was killed, now his body's gone, you know, the angel said he's alive, but in but but these guys are not celebrating the resurrection. They're downcast, they're walking away going, we had hoped, but our hope has been disappointed. Have you had your hopes disappointed in the past? Maybe that's how you feel right now. You had hopes, and maybe, maybe, maybe they're not being fulfilled the way that you you hoped that they would be fulfilled. You know, Jesus walks along them, asks a couple questions, listens to them. You know, sometimes that's that's what we need. We need uh a listening ear to process what's going on, what's in our heart? But he's not done. Verse 25, he said to them, How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself. So Jesus is like, you know, you guys just don't get it, don't you, do you? You know. I love that. I I love how Jesus uh just uses the scriptures in the Bible to help illuminate things. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. You know, Jesus could act. Right? He he he also knew what was gonna happen. But they urged him strongly, stay with us, for it is nearly evening, the day is almost over. So he went in to stay with them. So they get to the village, they get to the house that they go in, and Jesus gets invited in because he was providing some kind of a comfort for these guys. He was actually maybe kind of helping them come some of their hopes back alive through the scriptures. And sometimes we need that. We need somebody to open the scriptures with us to bring our hopes back alive. But here's verse 30 says, When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and began to give it to them. Doesn't that remind you something? Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And at that point, it says he disappeared from their sight. You know, job was done. Jesus had someplace else to be. They asked each other, were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us uh on the road and opened the scriptures to us. You know, wasn't something just just listening to Jesus teach the Bible, it made it come alive, it stirred our hearts, it gave us hope again. Verse 33. They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven and those with them assembled together, saying, It is true, the Lord has risen as has appeared to Simon. So while they were going back, Jesus had another appearance to make, and that was to Simon. Then the two told what happened what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. You know what did Jesus do on Easter Sunday? He turned two of these guys that were leaving him back. Two guys that lost hope in this movement. He went, walked with them, and gave their hope back because they weren't lost to him. I'd like to ask Danny uh to come on up and share his story at this point.

SPEAKER_01 36:24

Good morning, everyone. Uh my name is uh Daniel Maldonado. For those who don't know me, uh uh today is like it's funny because like uh Oscar was saying, not every day is your birthday, but uh today is my birthday. I'm 55 today.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

Happy birthday, Daddy!

SPEAKER_01 36:47

And uh not just only that, uh, but at the same time, uh in uh April 1st of uh 2012, 14 years ago, I got baptized as well. So I have two two birthdays in the same week. So I have a spiritual birthday and my birthday, uh and back in uh 2008, uh I was struggling with my marriage. Uh I was struggling with uh cocaine as well, and uh things weren't uh going too well for me. Uh I had a house, I had uh my kid as well living with us, and I just really got mixed up with some bad people, and I just started doing uh cocaine, and uh life was tough. Uh things started really to spiral out of control. And at that time that uh things were spiraling out of control. There were a lot of sleepless nights that I was out running around in the streets uh spending my time uh chasing a drug that uh I really wasn't very familiar with. And uh at that time uh I was missing a lot of days of work. I was not showing up on time. Uh so at the time that my wife that I was with uh wasn't able to go to work as well. So things uh at the house weren't doing that good, uh bills weren't being paid, and uh she wasn't going to work, so there was the loss of losing my house. And uh there was an oxygen in front of my house that uh they they sold the house, and we had to be out of the house like in about a week or so. So she had to find a place to live. I had to find a place to live. I was staying with uh my mom at the time, and I was struggling because uh here I was uh dealing with cocaine and she didn't have nowhere to go, so she gave me my kid as well. And uh a couple weeks after that, um she filed for divorce and uh also put a restraining order on me. So one day I came home from work and I had to pick up my kid and didn't know I had a restraining order, and I picked up my kid and ended up going to my mother's house, and she just dropped off everything at her at my mother's house, and we really didn't have nowhere to put it either. So it was tough. Um and I just remember going, taking her to school in the mornings, and uh when I used to take her to school, I seen my cousin Ellie. Uh it was a very busy school, so that you didn't really have time to speak or talk to anyone, and I haven't seen Ellie since I was like probably like around 11 or 12 years old. And I recognized her and she recognized me, and we kind of waved to each other, and then one day there was a play at the school, and at that play she had reached out to me. And I haven't I took her number, wrote it down, put it on my phone, and I also had another uh lady that I knew, her name was Ellie as well, so I I forgot which which one it was, but uh I ended up reaching out to her like a uh a couple weeks later, and uh she ended up setting up uh a date for me to go to church, and it was on a men's midweek. And uh and I said, Yeah, I'll go, but I really I really didn't want to go. But she ended up coming to my house and picking me up. She had everything all set up, and uh, one of the brothers was walking me into the church, and uh he was talking about football. I'm not a big sports fan, I really don't like football, I like cars. So he was that day when when uh she had picked me up, I I had this some cocaine because I, you know, I wasn't planning on going, but she did come pick me up, and so I was high, and uh he's thinking about sports, so that was killing my height. I was like, I don't really want to be here right now, I just want to get back in the car and just go home. So I ended up going into the church, and it was a men's midweek, and all these brothers were surrounded by the door, talking and stuff, and uh they just said inviting me in, they welcomed me in, and I was just like so high. I was like, I really don't want to be here right now. But I went in and uh one of the brothers uh he was standing behind me, and he goes, Daniel Moldonado, and I looked back, and it was a brother that I went to school with. He sat behind me in homeroom. It was uh Kevin Mahoney. So uh they started uh The Men's Midweek, and uh I was there and they was talking about uh just talking about uh their struggles, and I just seen these men talking about just things that I really didn't see other men talking about. You know, uh just uh things at work and and just lust over women and just just doing a uh a lot of things that I figured men from church wouldn't do, but it's they were keeping it real, they were being just open and just sharing their faith, like the Bible says, you know, just uh share your faith with one another. So it just really inspired me. I was like, these men are just uh really awesome and just being open. So he asked me this the brother that uh I sat with uh LJ Rosso, he said, you don't have to share, and I wanted to share because I was going through a lot of stuff in my life, so I started to tear up and I started to share. And uh I was just so grateful that I did because uh that brother invited me to study the Bible, so I was able to go out and uh study the Bible, and it was it was a good time because it just I was able to open up and just share the things that were going on in my life, and I just really wanted to change. So uh he gathered all the brothers like Kevin and and uh Hampton as well, and uh they sat with me in my house every single day and just opened God's word, and God's word just really impacted me. And I and most of those studies, I'm a very emotional person, so I cried most of most of the time with uh all the scriptures that they were opening. So uh at that time they invited me to church on a Sunday, and I I don't know if any of you remember Tom Caswell when he starts, he tells everybody just you know go up and shake everyone's hand. So I was like, I thought it was over, so I was like, Oh, that was awesome, that was super quick. So I started and and LJ was like, no, let's is we're gonna sit down, he's gonna start this sermon right now. I was like, okay, but I still through all that I had a I had an awesome time. And uh the brothers invited me to come back out and study the Bible, and I did, and it was just really awesome because uh if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here today. And just you know, the impact that they made on me just really changed my life, and uh it's just so awesome uh that we get to see someone being baptized today. Yes, and if uh anyone invites you to come out and uh you get a chance to speak with them and study the Bible, I just really encourage you to really sit down and study with someone because it's just really awesome. It'll just you don't know, it just will change your life. Yeah, yeah. So if you ever had the opportunity, I encourage you to share and uh to come out to study the Bible. And uh that's uh my story.

SPEAKER_00 44:01

You know, Jesus gives hope to people that might have lost their hope. He shows up when we're in a need. And to finish the sermon, he did meet with the apostles. He didn't ignore them. He spent three years training them, spending time with them. He had a couple other people to meet before. But in Luke chapter 24, we finish the story by him meeting the apostles. So this is uh the guys came back, and uh that one day we're still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you. They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. Of course, you know, we're 2,000 years later, every year celebrating Jesus' resurrection, Christian has been around the whole globe now. You know, we're not so startled by this news. But can you imagine being there the first time somebody raised from the dead? It's just showing up amongst you. He said to them, Why are you troubled? And why doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself. I'm not a ghost, I'm real. Touch me and see. A ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And why they still did not believe it, because of joy and amazement, he asked them, Do you have anything here to eat? Gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. You know, one of the other ways that Jesus is trying to normalize this experience is by eating, sharing a meal with them. All right. Everybody's freaking out. I'm real, I'm back. Come on. And they were, they were, they were, they were, they were amazed and and and they were rejoicing, you know, this is an apparition, this is a ghost, this is whatever it is. She's just like, okay, let's let's have a bite, guys. Go okay, calm down, let's just eat. And and and and took a little bit, a little bit of fish and and had the meal. And then finishing up, he said in verse 44, he said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms. Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures. He told them, uh sorry, I just lost my train of thought. He told uh, where was I? He told them, This is what was, this is what is written, that Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. That was the role of the apostles, to witness his resurrection, to be going around and tell people Jesus rose from the dead. This is not a story, this is not fiction, this is real, and it actually has an impact on all of our lives. Because it brings the opportunity to have our lives changed. If the dead can be alive, then people that struggle with addiction can be freed.

SPEAKER_02 47:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 47:53

The people that struggle with sin can be relieved and forgiven. It's people that have had emotional challenges can heal and be whole again. It's people that are down on their luck can find luck again with God. That is the good news of the resurrection. But it's not just the general good news. Oh, Jesus rose from the dead, hey, be happy, there's Easter. It's personal. Jesus meeting Mary was very personal. Jesus going off to the two guys, leaving Jerusalem was very personal. And Jesus meeting with the apostles, taking a piece of bread, a piece of fish, eating with them, letting know that I'm real, and then spending the next 40 days meeting with them, teaching them more, connecting with them, helping them to be witnesses of the resurrection, that was personal. And the way he touched Linda's life, Danny's lives, and many of our lives, that is incredibly personal. A few questions to leave you with, and then we're gonna pray. We're actually gonna have a song that we're gonna sing for communion. Why did Jesus spend his first day of the resurrection with these particular people? That was one of the questions, and I read this story. I thought. Are there situations in our lives? Where do I need some more hope? And have I responded to the message of the resurrected Jesus by repentance and baptism? Which is the good news. So Jesus walked out of that tomb and he spent his day meeting people. What did Jesus do on Sunday? Well, he's still out there looking for you and me. Because he wants to meet us.